Searched and Known by God
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Key Verse: “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” Selected Scripture: |
WHAT A SOUL-SEARCHING STATEMENT, ‘I am fearfully [reverently] and wonderfully made.’ The psalmist recognizes his being a marvelous creation. God exclaims in Genesis, “The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”—chap. 2:7
The Lord God formed man from the elements of the earth and breathed life into him. From this we see it took a body formed from the elements of the earth, and the life-giving spirit, to make a soul.
In our lesson for today, the psalmist begins by saying “O Lord, thou hast searched me,” (Ps. 139:1)—that is, examined me intently; you know “my downsitting.” (vs. 2) This word has the thought of being established. You know “mine uprising.” This word ‘uprising’ brings with it the thought of knowing all of our accomplishments.
Our God knows our every thought. (Ps. 94:11) The Apostle Paul says, “The word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword.” (Heb. 4:12) In verse 3 of our psalm, we are told that God compasses, (spreads out our path), knows our lying down (Ps. 139:3) (that is, watches us in our sleep), and is acquainted with all our ways. This is a mighty God who has formed us from the very ground of our universe.
Such knowledge is “too wonderful for me.” (vs. 6) The psalmist acknowledges that he could not attain unto the knowledge of God. In verses 7 and 8, David says that whether he went to heaven, or even in his grave, God is there. No matter where he was, God’s right hand holds him. (vs. 10) The psalmist was acquainted with the night watches. (vss. 11,12) He looked up into the sky and saw all the myriads of stars—the lights of night—and he praised God.—Ps. 19:1
He says, in verse 13, that he was known from his “mother’s womb,” and then says that “his substance” was not hid from God, when he was made “in secret, curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.” (vs. 15) What is it to be made ‘in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth’? My ‘substance [body],’ was known before I was born. I was made in secret. Only God knows the interworking of the human body. ‘Curiously wrought [literally embroidered], in the lowest parts of the earth,’ from the womb.
“Thine eyes did see my substance [my body], yet being unperfect”—that is, my body being yet just a mass in the womb, was known by thee. “In thy book all my members were written”—all “were fashioned,” even before I was begotten.—vs. 16
Now the psalmist praises Almighty God by saying, “How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them.” I cannot count thy thoughts for they are “more in number than the sand.”—vss 17,18
The Psalmist David sums up his praise to God, saying, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”—vss. 23,24